Enameling machine



May 3, 1938.

E. H. HARRIS ENAMELING MACHINE' 2 Smets-sheet 1 original Filed .March 5 0, 1956 May 3, 1938.

E. H. HARRls ENAMELING MACHINE Original Filed March 50,A 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTQR H. ARNEY BY @i Reissued May '3, 1938 UNITED STATES ENAMELING MACHINE Edward H. Harris, Bridgeport, Conn., assignor to Wheeler Insulated Wire Company, Bridgeport, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Original No. 2,087,145, datedJuly 13, 1937, Se-

rial N0. 71,580, March 30, 1936.

Application for reissue March 8, 1938, Serial No. H4547 6 Claims.

n This invention relates to wire enameling.

It is the practice in enameling `wire in a machine to pass the wire `to the machine from a,

as many times as desired, and then have the wire 'pass toa capstan, after which it is wound in a 'manner suitable for use.

. In the process of drying or baking each coating of enamel as the wire passes through the oven,

acrid fumes, vapors and gases are given olf insubstantial quantities, and these are carried 01T by draft through a hood and pipes to a stack. These gases are of a heavy and obnoxious character, and may form an air-contaminating nuisance in the neighborhood. In addition, the hood attached to the oven for the purpose of removing the gases, of necessity' has openings to permit the wire emerging from the oven to pass therethrough, and there is continually a certain amount of leakage of said gases into the enameling room, resulting in discomture tothe workmen, and requiring additional ventilation to keep the air pure.v

An object oi the present invention is to obviate the above mentioned'diiculties and objections due to the production of these gases and fumes in the enamel-drying process. This is accomplished by burning and otherwise reducing the gases, and in the present way of carrying out the method of the invention, the gases are brought into the combustion chamber of the drying ovens of an enameling machine, thereby utilizing the heat from the combustion of said gases and providing for economy of fuel consumption. By so burning and reducing the gases given off during the enamel-drying process, there has been eliminated this obnoxious by-product of enamel drying, and in its place there isnow asmokeless and odorless exhaust.

In the preferred embodiment of an apparatus according to the invention there is provided ani enameling machine having a central, vertical heating or ring chamber, on each vside of which there is disposed a laterally ilattened oven through which the wire passes in an upward. direction. The ring chamber has a gas burner near the top which throws flames downward, and so may be called a down-draft heating means for drying ovens. Above the gas burner, the sides of the tiring chamber are .provided with openings which communicate with the ovens, and at the bottom of the ring chamber there is provided a nue which is connected with a forceddraft for sucking the gases from the iiring chamber. This q forced draft sucks air and the enameling gases into the firing chamber from the tops of the ovens, and this mixture, whichl is combustible, passes directly by the gas burner and ignites, to 5 further, heat the ovens.` Because of the forced4 draft, air is being sucked continually into` the tops of the ovens through the openings provided for the wire, and this air mixes with the rising gasesV from the hot ovens to form a combustible mixture which'is sucked into the firing chamber for burning. The strong indi-aft at the tops of theovens thus precludes any possibility of escape of the enameling gases. By Virtue of the uniform forced draft there /also results a better and more even temperature regulation o f the oven heat which in consequence makes for a Superior enameled wire product. f

A feature of the present inventionis the resulting veconomy which is eiected by the utiliza.- tion, in the ovens, of the heat resulting from the burning of the combustible gases' hich were heretofore passed into the atmosphere with much potential energy still present.

Another feature of the present invention is the .compensating heating effect which results when,` vfor any reason, there is an increase in the speed of the wire passing through the machine, and which compensating effect is due to the increased volume of gases attendant to a faster wire speed, which gases are fed into the ring chamber. Thus the result is a hotter oven, which is necessaryand desirable 4to a higher wire speed, and this is realized without a resetting of the thermostatic oven-heat control. 35

Still another feature of the present invention is the elimination of fire hazard which was heretofore present in the prior enameling art due to condensation of the gases in the hood and pipes used for their removal. Inasmuch as the gases given oi in the enameling oven are of a heavy and gummy character, these gases in being led 0E to the outside atmosphere condense somewhat due to cooling, and a gummy. and highly inflammable condensate is formed on vthe inner walls of the stacking pipes. Should any sparks pass y through these pipes for any reason whatever, ignition of this condensate will take place,`and a hot stacking or chimney re will result, and these lires are of frequent occurrence' where wire enameling is done. The burning of the oven gases in the ring chamber of the oven, as disclosed by the present invention, produces a smokeless and virtually odorless exhaust which v in passing to the atmosphere does not condense on the inner walls of the stacking pipes, and therefore there lhas been positively removed the danger of re hazard which was heretofore present. f

A further feature of the present invention is the reduction which has been made possible in the overall size of the enamel'ing machine, since the hood and stacking pipes, which were here` tofore necessarily disposed on top of the oven between-the latter and the upper set of sheaves for the wire, are noflonger required. In View of this, the oven can be extended upwardly so as to be closer4 to the top sheaves, thereby making possible a longer oven, or the sheaves may be placed lower and closer to the top of lthe oven resulting in a machine of less height.

Another feature of the present invention is the prevention of fouling of the upper sheaves in the machine. According to the present preferred embodiment a down-draft passes by the wires which emerge from the top of the oven, preventing the escape of any of the stacking gases therefrom, and therefore keeping the wire and the upper sheaves clean and free from gum or dirt. As practiced heretofore the stacking hoodwas interposed between the oven and the upper sheaves, and gases which vwould invariably .escape therefrom were continually depositing foreign matter to cause sticking and fouling of said sheaves, oftentimes resulting in breakingof the wire; this has been obviatedy entirely by this invention. In addition, the wire and sheaves at the top are no longer subjected to the heat from these gases and therefore are maintained at a cooler and rore workable temperature.

A still further feature of the present invention is the simplification of the operations required in initially Stringing the machine with wire as well as the operations required in repairing breaks in the wires. Since the machine can no w be, made with the top sheaves set lower for a given oven length, and since the wires pass directly from the voven to said sheaves without having a stacking 'hood about them, a machine can be more easily and quickly strung with wire by an operator than has heretofore been possible. It is obvious, also, thatthe wires passing from the oven to the upper sheaves are now visible to the operator whereheretofore they were partially hidden from view by the stacking hood, and therefore the condition of theV enamel on the wire may be more readily observed, and also breaks in said wire may be quickly noticed and fixed.

The elimination of the stacking hood, with its attendant fault of permitting the gases to escape into the room has also resulted in a cleaner, and more workable shop. In the practice of the present invention no gases are allowed to escape into the room because of the positive indraft'at the points where the Wire emerges from the oven, and

it is no longer necessary to provide additional ventilation facilities in the shop to carry off these gases. I

Other features and advantages will hereinafter Y 'appeal'.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figurel is a side elevation `oi! an enameling machine illustrating one embodiment of the present invention.

I Fig. 2 vis a vertical transverse section of the ixn-v proved dryingoven of the enameling machine.

Fig. y3 is a vertical longitudinal section of the enameling oven taken on'the line 3-3 of Fig. 2

the sectional viewer Fig. 2 being'taken on the lin'e 2-2 of Fig. 3. I

Fig. 4 isa horizontal section of the oven taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. `2. v

The preferred form of enameling machine embodying the present invention includes improved and novel drying ovens broadly designated by the numeral I0, see Fig. 1, /arid hereinafter explained in detail, enamelingl dips designated by the numeral II, and wire handling mechanisms designated by numerals I2 and I3 for handling the supply wires to the dips II and oven III, and for taking-off wires therefrom and spooling said wires.

The wire-handling mechanisms I2 and IS-are similar 'in all respects, and are supported on frames having base plates I4 whichl support vertical tubular posts I5 and I6 bridged by spool supporting members Il and capstan-supporting structures I8. Carried by the vertical posts I5 are spool brackets I9 for supporting the spools S of wire to be enameled, and the brackets I9 carry three-armed levers 20 which provide binding means for said spools, in order to maintain a constant tension on the wire being unwound therefrom. Thewires 2| are taken from the supply spools S .over pulleys carried by the threearmed levers, and led to the enameling dips to be coated.

The vertical posts I6 extend above the capstansupporting structures I8, and are bridged at their tops by horizontal struts 22, the ends of which brackets 23 for supporting take-off sheaves 24,

rover which the wires 2 I arebrought after leaving the ovens I0. The capstan-supporting structures IB carry capstans 25 and 26, the capstans 26 being geared together and driven by electric motors 21. Take-o spools 28 are rotatably mounted on the spool-supporting members I'I and are driven from pulleys 29 carried byshafts 3B journaled in brackets carried by the members I1, and said shafts are iin turn driven by means of chains 3I from the motors 21. Traversing pulleys 32 for the spools 28 are carried by longitudinally movable rods 33 which are supported by links 34 pivotally mounted on' the capstansupporting structures I8. The rods' 33 are caused to reciprocate by means ofv levers 35 pivotally mounted onbrackets 3B and actuated -by cammechanisms 31 geared to the motors 21. The speed of the motors 21 is controlled by rheostats 33 carried by the vertical posts I5. 'I'hewires 2| coming from the oven III pass over the sheaves 24 and over the capstans 25 and 26, thence going to the traversing pulleys 32 and the take-off spools 28.

The present preferred embodiment of the improved enameling ovens` III of the present invention is shown in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive. A supporting frame 39, preferably of cast metal, is provided to which are secured in vertical vposition the improved ovens I0, and which frame also carries the enamel dips II.` The ovens I0 have a central firing chamber 40 which is relatively flat, wide and high, and which is conned by two heavy metallic side plates 4I. 'I'he plates 4I are supported in spaced lparallel relation within a chamber of the same width and height as the firing chamber, but of broader dimension, and formed by two similar channel-shaped castings 42 having longitudinally extending flanges 43 abutting each other, and through which pass ybolts for securing the castings together. Preferextend horizontally beyond the posts I6, and carry oven-chambers 45 between said plates and the castings. The plates 4| and castings 42 are supported vertically on a bottom plate 46 which in turn is bolted to the frame 39. The top of the firing chamber 40 is closed over by a channelshaped member 41, which isv packed with' heatresistant and insulating material 48.

An outer metal casing 49 is provided to fit about the castings 42, but spaced therefrom, and the spaces between the casing and the Vcastings are packed with heat insulating material 5l to prevent los's of heat from the oven chambers and firing chamber.

A gas burner 40a is disposed'horizontally within the firing chamber 40 near its top, said burner having downwardly directed jets from which the gas emerges and burns so as to heat the oven chambers 45 on each side of the firing chambers. According to the present embodiment, there are thus 'provided two separate oven chambers through which wires may pass, the oven chambers being disposed one on each side of the firing chamber 40' to receive heat therefrom. Wires may be brought to the ovens l from each of the wire'handling mechanisms vI2 and I5, the wires handled by the mechanism I2 passing through the oven chamber adjacent said mechanism, and the wires handled., by the mechanism i3 `passing through the .oven chamber adjacent this latter mechanism. h

Attached to the upper portions of the castingsv 42 are extension plates 5| 'braced by tie rods 52 and supporting at their upper extremities shafts 53 and 54 which each carry a plurality of sheaves 55 and 56`over which the wire emerging from the oven chambers pass. Below the oven chambers and attached to the supporting frame 39 are downwardly extending links 51 and58 which support at their lower'ext'remities shafts 59 and 60 respectively, each carrying a plurality of sheaves 6I and 62 over which the wires entering the oven chambers pass.

The bottom plate/46 is provided with slots 46a so .disposed as to be in registration with the bottoms of the oven. chambers 45, to permit wire to pass from below the plate 46 through the slots therein and into the oven chambers 45, and said oven chambers are open at their tops so that wire passing therethrough may emerge `without obstruction.

The upper sheaves 55 and 56 are respectively so aligned relatively to the lower sheaves 6I and 62 and the oven chambers 45 that Wire may pass from the lower sheaves to the upper sheaves. through said oven chambers without coming in contact with the walls thereof, and may freely pass from the upper sheaves to the lower sheaves on the outside of the'casing 49.

The frame 39 has brackets which support shafts 63 and 64 carrying pulleys 65 and 66 over which the wires, in entering the machine, pass before reaching the lower sheaves 6I and 62.

The shafts 59 and 69 which carry the lower sheaves also support enameling dip pans 61 and 5l', which hold the enameling solution for coating the wire, and these pans areclosely positioned to the sheaves 6| and 62 so that the lower portions of said sheaves are continually immersed in the enameling dip. A wire 2l which is to be coated with enamel first passes over a pulley 65, and then through the enameling dip under a sheave 6I, where it is coated, after which it passes through one of thes1ots 4ta in the bottom plate 46, and up through one of the drying ovens 45 and over anupper sheave 55.

of an elbow fixture 12.

It will be noted that the wire may ,pass over the sheaves and through the'enameling dip and drying oven chamber a. number of times to give the wire a number of coatings of enamel; in the specific illustrated form ofY Figs. 2, 3 and 4, each wire is shown as receiving four coatings of enamel, and accordingly after the wire has emerged from the oven chamber for .the first time it passes over a top sheave 5 5 and down outside of the casing 49 around a second bottom sheave 6|,is again coatedA and again passed up through the oven chamber for drying, and this repeated until four co-ats have been applied. Each coat of enamel lon the wire is dried by the oven before the neXl; coat is applied, and after the drying of the fourth coat the wire is brought to th'e spooling mechanism from the last uppersheave 55 ove1 which it passes.

Figs. 3 and 4 sh'ow four groupings of wires for each oven, each grouping representing one individual wire receiving four coatings of enamel; thus eight wires are being given each four coatings of enamel.

It will thus be seen that eachtime a Wire is given a coating of enamel, it passes directly upward into the drying oven chamber. The enamel, in drying on the wires in the .oven chambers, gives olf heavy and acrid vapors which are particularly obnoxious, and whichwere heretofore carried oif from the tops of the'oven by means of a stacking hood, and emitted into' the atmosphere.

By the present invention these acrid and objectionable vapors are burnedand otherwise reduced so as to be transformed into a smokeless and virtually odorless exhaust which is not harmful to plantA and animallife, nor undesirable in other respects.

In the, accomplishment of, this, according to j the preferred embodiment shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, each of the'walls 4I of .the firing chamberV 40 is provided with a long horizontal slot lil near its top and disposed above the gas burner 40a., and the slots 'l0 thus providecommunicating pas- Sages' between the oveny chambers 45 and the firing chamber 40. .There is alsoprovided at .the

bottom of the firing chamber an opening connected-with a forced draft exhaust pipe 1I by means Bythe provision of the communicating passages formed by the slots 10, and by the provision of forced exhaust draft in the bottom of the ringchamber, gases and vapors which are, given ofi in the oven chamber 45 will be sucked into thc iring chamber, and will pass directly by the gas burner 49a. In so doing, these gases will be ignited, and willburn within the firing chamber so as to further ,heat the drying oven chambers. 1n addition, the draft provided in the firing chamber A4L! will also cause air .to be sucked into the tops of the oven chambers at the places where wires emerge therefrom, and will also cause air to be sucked into the .bottoms of `said'chambers at the places where wires enter. A Thus, air will be mixed with the vapors given off by the enamel in the ovens, and this mixture will be transferred to .the ring 'chamber and caused to pass the -gas burner 40a, which will virtually odorless exhaust which is not objectionable in character.

In addition, theburnmg of t'he vapors given ofi by the enamel in the ring chamber III results in a further heating of .the oven chambers, and as a consequence less gas is required by the burner Ilia to maintain a given oven temperature than was heretofore the case. This feature of burning the enameling gases in the firing chamber has resulted in a striking economy of fuel consumption, and has also resulted in a.' more uniform Wire product, as will be hereinafter disclosed.

According to the preferred embodiment of the yinvention shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, the oven chambers 45 do not have a uniform temperature throughout, but are hotter at their top portions than at their bottom portions, and this is due to the burner Illa being located near the tops of said` chambers. This arrangement has been found exceedinglyvsatisfactoryin so far as uniformity of wire product is c'oncerned,` since the Wire which is freshly enameled is not subjected immediately to the hottest portions of the oven chambers, but is brought into said chambers at their lowermost or cooler portions. By thus subjecting the freshly enameled wire to a relatively low temperature first and then causinggradually subjection to higher temperatures, the coating of enamel applied to the wire will adhere more tenaciously and will form a more dense and superior insulating lm than would be the case otherwise.

It is to be particularly noted that the mixture of vapor and air entering the rlng chamber is drawn into said chamber from the hottest portions of the ovenchambers, and therefore this mixture is at a. highand readily combustible temperature, and burns without smoke and without deposit of soot.

Due to the heated condition of the oven chambers, the lvapors given oil.' therein are rising continually toward the slots 10 which open into the ring chamber, and in so rising they cause air to be drawn into the lower portions of the oven chambers, thus effectively preventing any escape of gases from said lower portions. In addition, as a` result of the draft in the firing chamber, air will be continually sucked into the oven chambers through vthe tops thereof, and will also ei'- fectively prevent 'escape of vapors therefrom where the wires emerge. Thus, there is no possibility of the vapors in the oven chambers escaping into the room, and particularly no possibility of these vapors reaching the upper sheaves l5 and 56 over which the wire passes, and causing fouling thereof due to deposit of gum and other foreign matter.

It is to be noted that there is a compensation eifected by burning the vapors given oil' in the oven chambers 4I in the firing chamber 4l to further heat the Ioven chambers. It is well known v thatl more heat is reguired for drying the enamel on wire when thev speedl of the wire passing through theloven chambers is increased. By the present invention,'any increase in the speed of the wire. passing through the oven chambers will result in more enamel surface beingv dried, which in turn will -cause more vapors to be given o! in said chambers. Therefore, ,the vapors which are` sucked into a ring chamber I0, for a faster wirespeed. will be more dense and will supply more heat in burning. Thus there will. bey etceted thereby a higher temperature of the oven chambers, which higher temperature is desirable and necessary for a faster wire-speed. This compensating effect also obtains for slower wire speeds to reduce the heating of the oven chambers, and therefore obviates resetting of the thermostatlc control valve in the gas supply line for the firing chamber, and as a result variations in the speed of the wire require no attention from the ,operator in readjusting the thermostatic valve.

For the purpose of causing a more uniform distribution of the draft in the' firing chamber 40 thereis provided in the lower portion thereof., a baille plate 13 slidably mounted therein. The

baille 13 is moved by means of a rod 14 extending'f through the elbow fixture 12 so that adjustment can be readily made from the outside.

A vertical fiat metal backing plate 15is attached to the extension plates 5i and to the top piece I1 of fthe firing chamber so as to be disposed between the wires emerging froml the oven chambers 45, for the purpose of preventing entanglement ofthe wires of any one oven with a wire which might break in the other oven, and saidv backing plate preferably has surfaces of iight color, so that the wire coming from the ovens will be sharply outlined thereagainst to reveal abnormalities in thel coating of enamel, or breaks in the wire. Also, attached to the supporting frame 38 is a partition plate 16 disposed between the enameling pans 61 and i8 to provide for the horizontal positioning of said pans on the shafts 59 and 60 and to prevent entanglement of the wires passing through the oven chamber on one side of the fixing chamber with the wires passing through the other oven chamber should any breaks occur.

Referring to Fig. 1, the forced draft exhaust pipe 1| is connected to the intake side of a. blower 11, the exhaust: side of which is carried outside of the building. For the purpose of regulating the draft applied to the firing chamber andthe ovens, there is provided in the pipe 1| a damper 1in which may be adjusted fora given set of conditions.I

The gas burner a is connected with a mixing valve 18 and a thermostatic control valve'19 through a shut oil valve to a gas supply` By the provision of the draft means connected with the ring chamber 40, there has been eliminated the stacking vhood which was, prior to the present invention, disposed directly over the tops of the ovens, between said tops and the upper sheaves. As a result it is now-possible to arrange the vupper sheaves so that they are much closer to the tops of the ovens without danger that thev vapors ofsaid ovens foul saidsheaves, and therefore theoverall height of the ovens` and firing chamber has been materially reduced. lin addition, the elimination of the 'stacking hopd has simplied greatly the operations required in initiaily stringing the machine with wire, and also simplified the locating and mending of breaks 1. In a wire-enameling machine, a vertical substantially flat, deep, and wide'oven chamber having oppositely disposed openings in its top andfbottomtopermit a plurality of freshly enameled wires to be passed through the oveny for drying, said chamber having a fiat wall disposed broadsideto said wires in close proximity therewith, said wall having a long and narrow horizontal aperture therein; a substantially fiat ring chamber having for one wall the said flat wall of the oven so that the aperture thereof forms a passage between the oven and firing chamber; means connected with the firing chamber for causing an indraft in said chamber, said means including aflue which opens into the chamber; and means for producing a substantially continuous elongate iiame in the ring' chamber closely adjacent the aperture in the wall thereof and between said aperture and theI flue opening so that gases sucked through the aperture into the ring chamber from the oven will pass byl said flame and be ignited thereby.

2. In a wire-enameling machine, a vertical substantially fiat, deep, and wide oven chamber having oppositely disposed openings in its top and bottom to permit a pluralityv of freshly enameled wires to be passed through the oven for drying, said chamber having a flat wall disposed broadside to said wires in close proximity therewith, said wall having a long and narrow horizontal aperture therein; a substantially flat firing chamber having for one wall the said flat wall of the oven so that the aperture thereof forms a passage between the oven and firing chamber: Vmeans connected with the firing chanber for causing an indraft in said chambensaid means including a flue which opens into the chamber; and an elongate burner `having a plurality of aligned openings so as to produce substantially a continuous name. said burner being located in the firing chamber closely adjacent theaperture in the wall thereof and between said aperture and ue opening so that gases sucked through the aperture into the firing chamber from the oven will pass by said burner and be ignited by the name thereof.

3.In a wire-enameling machine, an oven chamber having oppositely disposed openings in its opposite ends to permit a plurality of freshly enameled wires tobe passed through theoven for drying, said chamber having a nat wall disposed broadside to said wires in close proximity e which opens into the firing chamber: and means vflame and be ignited thereby.

for producing a substantially continuous' elongate fiame in said f iring chamber closely adjacent the aperture in the wall thereof and between said aperture and the flue opening so that gases sucked through the aperture into the ilring chamber from the oven will pass by said flame and be ignited thereby.

4. In a wire-enameling machine, an V,oven

chamber having oppositely disposed openings in its opposite ends to permit a plurality of freshly enameled wires to be passed through the oven .for drying. said chamber having a fiat wall disposed broadside to said 'wires in close proximity therewith, said wall having a long and narrow aperture therein; a substantially flat firing chamber having for one wall-the said flat wall of they oven sothat the aperture thereof forms a passage between the ovenand firing chamber; y

` an elongate burner having a pluralityof aligned openings so as to produce substantially' a continuous iiame, said burner being located in the I ring chamber closely adjacent the aperture in the wall thereof and between said aperture and flue opening so that gases sucked through the.

aperture into thering chamber from the oven will pass by said burner'and be ignited by the ame thereof.

5. In a wire-enameling machine. an oven chamber having openings in the opposite ends thereof to permit freshly enameledwlres to be passed through the oven for drying; a -wall of the .oven chamber having an elongate aperture; a ring chamber including as one wall thereof the wa'll of the oven chamber having the aper ture thereinso that the aperture thereof forms a passage between the oven and ring chamber; means connected with the ring chamber for causing an indraft therein. said means including a flue which opens irto the flringchamber;

and means for producing a substantially continuous elongate name in saidiiring chamber closel'y adjacent the aperture in the wall thereof and between said aperture and the nue openingso that gases sucked through the aperture into the firing chamber from the oven will pass by said 6. In a wire-enameling machine, an oven chamber having openings in the opposite ends thereof4 to permit freshly enameled-wires to be passed through the oven for drying; a wall of the oven chamber having an elongate aperture; a firing chamber including as one wall thereof the wall of the oven chamber having the aperture Vtherein so that the aperture thereof forms a M passage between the oven and nring chamber:

means connected with the ring chamber for causing an indraft therein, said means including a ue which opens into the firing chamber; and an elongate burner ,having a plurality of aligned openings so as to produce substantially a continuousv flame. said burner being located in the firing chamber closely adjacent the aperture in l,

the wall thereof and between said aperture and flue opening so that gasessucked through the aperture `into the firing chamber from the oven willpassbysaidburnerandbeignitedbythename thereof.

EDWARD E. 

